When news broke that Cravath, Swaine & Moore had announced its latest batch of new partners, I started getting messages. One said: “Congratulations!” Another: “You are ruffling feathers and making a huge difference.”

Far be it for a humble columnist to claim credit for influencing the partnership choices of a big, powerful law firm. Still, you have to wonder if all that publicity about Cravath’s poor (pathetic) record on Black partners pushed it to elevate two Black women (Helam Gebremariam and Heather Benjamin) to partnership.